In the imperial study, the emperor sat down beside the arhat bed. Then Eunuch Bao stepped forward voluntarily to make tea for the emperor.
The four officials lifted their robes and were about to kneel down again, but the emperor said, "Someone, prepare seats for these gentlemen."
Several eunuchs then carried some chairs and placed them behind Su Qing and the others.
Su Qing straightened his knees instantly. He coughed twice, glanced at the people beside him, and then sat down on the chair carelessly.
The emperor didn't look at them. Instead, he took the tea whisk from Eunuch Bao and said, "Alright, all of you withdraw. I'll do it myself."
Eunuch Bao responded with a "Yes" and then motioned for the young eunuchs in the imperial study to withdraw.
The emperor and Su Qing and the others were left in the room. While skillfully whisking the tea foam, the emperor said, "Now that there's no one else around, you can speak."
However, the people who had been crying and complaining at the door just now fell into an extremely tacit silence.
After all, no one wanted to be the first to speak! Whoever took the lead might be remembered by the emperor, because what they were going to accuse was the current crown prince!
Squinting his eyes, Su Qing took a deep breath and decided to be the first one to step forward.
"Your Majesty, I'd like to lodge a complaint against the current crown prince! I accuse him of being arrogant, ignoring the court officials, wantonly bullying my sons, and even planning to set dogs on my beloved daughter to kill her!"
Once there was a first one, there would be a second.
Since his beloved daughter played well with the little girl of the Duke of Yong, Zhang Wentao then said, "I'd like to lodge a complaint against the current crown prince for setting dogs on people in the Prince Xuan's Mansion and randomly accusing others of being 'evil spirits' and 'rebels' without any evidence."
The emperor looked at Qin Xiao and Zhuo Hong and asked, "Do you two also want to lodge a complaint against the crown prince?"
Qin Xiao said with a straight face, "My daughter has a sense of justice. She always remembers my teachings and stands up when she sees injustice. However, she was labeled as a rebel. I'm not convinced."
Zhuo Hong said, "I second the motion."
The emperor stopped whisking the tea foam and frowned slightly.
What happened in the Prince Xuan's Mansion yesterday was deliberately suppressed by the Wang family. Coupled with the fact that the emperor didn't care much about the crown prince, he hadn't heard any news until now. But looking at these four court officials in front of him, the emperor guessed that the crown prince had caused another big stir when he wasn't aware.
Seeing the emperor's changed expression, Su Qing and the others' hearts skipped a beat.
Looking up, the emperor said calmly, "Since you've come to me for justice, you have to let me know what exactly happened so that I can make a decision. Which of you, my dear officials, can recount the whole thing from beginning to end?"
Everyone looked at Su Qing in unison.
Su Qing cursed silently in his heart and then told the emperor in detail what had happened in the Prince Xuan's Mansion yesterday, how the crown prince had publicly slandered Su Yuanyuan as an evil star, set dogs to chase her, and then slandered those who resisted as rebels.
After finishing speaking, Su Qing cried, "Your Majesty, I'm so aggrieved! I was nearly thirty years old when I had this only daughter. My beloved daughter was born a fool, which was already bad enough. But no matter what she looked like, I've always held her in the palm of my hand and cherished her. I couldn't bear even the slightest scratch on her."
"But unexpectedly, after I came to Shengjing, my beloved daughter first fell into the water at the empress's birthday banquet, then was almost slandered. In the Foxing Temple, she almost died in a fire!"
"Now, she was even said to be an evil spirit and almost lost her life in the Prince Xuan's Mansion! My daughter is innocent, kind, and never provokes others. She's always kind to others. How could such a good child be an evil spirit?"
The more Su Qing spoke, the sadder he became. "Your Majesty is also a father. You should be able to understand my love for my children. My beloved daughter has been through so many hardships. It was only by the grace of God that she was able to gain intelligence. But she hasn't had a few good days..."
"Wuwuwuwu..." Su Qing cried very sadly. "My poor daughter!"
When the emperor heard that the crime the crown prince had imposed on Su Yuanyuan was "evil spirit", he knew what the crown prince was up to.
Humph, did he think he could clear his vicious and cunning mother of the charges and bring her back from the Huguo Temple like this?
He was being too naive.
Moreover, such actions had also chilled the hearts of the loyal officials. No wonder he was the crown prince taught by Wang Chongling. He really only cared about the petty gains in front of him.
However...
The emperor looked at Su Qing in front of him and the more he looked, the more dissatisfied he became.
This man was just good at martial arts, spoke loudly, acted rashly, and was quite protective of his own. What else was good about him? Why did that brat recognize him as his adoptive father?
When the emperor was in a bad mood, he wanted to make things difficult for Su Qing.
"However, Duke of Yong, what the crown prince said does make some sense. Your daughter was born a fool in Mobei. Even after seeing many doctors, there was no improvement. But why did she become smarter after coming to Shengjing? Could it be that the water and soil in Shengjing are more nourishing than those in Mobei?"
When Zhang Wentao and the others heard this, they were a bit unsure about the emperor's attitude. With this attitude, wouldn't the emperor really plan to protect the crown prince and just casually dismiss them? If so, the Great Chu was really hopeless.
Su Qing's face remained unchanged. Instead, he echoed, "Who says it isn't? It's precisely because Your Majesty bestowed the title of Duke of Yong on me and allowed my family to move to Shengjing that my beloved daughter was able to have such an opportunity. They say that the Son of Heaven has the aura of a dragon. Since we live under the feet of the Son of Heaven every day, we've naturally been blessed by Your Majesty."
The emperor raised his eyebrows, and the corner of his lips curled up imperceptibly.
This Su Qing was quite good at talking. He didn't look like a rough and tumble general at all.
Beside Su Qing, although Zhang Wentao and the others didn't show it on their faces, their impressions of Su Qing had changed dramatically in their hearts.
Like the emperor, they had thought that the Duke of Yong was just a brute who only knew how to fight. They didn't expect him to be so... good at dealing with people?
Zhang Wentao quietly glanced at the emperor and sure enough saw that the emperor was in a great mood.
Clearing his throat, the emperor poured hot water into the tea foam. He kindly poured four cups of tea and said to the others, "Come and taste this tea. Is it drinkable?"
Su Qing was flattered and quickly said, "I never thought I'd be able to drink the tea brewed by Your Majesty personally. This is really a blessing I've accumulated over several lifetimes!"
Zhang Wentao endured it for a while and then echoed, "I'm so fortunate."
The others stepped forward to take the teacups and took a sip. Su Qing was the first to say, "It's fresh and refreshing, with a clear taste. It's really good tea! It's worthy of Your Majesty!"
Zhang Wentao said, "Good tea."
Qin Xiao said, "...Good tea."
Zhuo Hong said, "I'll die without regret if I can drink the tea brewed by Your Majesty personally."
Although their flattery was quite obvious, there was no one in the world who didn't like to hear nice words. The emperor was very pleased. When he looked at Su Qing again, he didn't find him so unpleasant.
Humph, maybe it was just this glib tongue that had coaxed Yun Jian, that brat, into recognizing him as his adoptive father.
The emperor didn't realize that he was feeling a bit jealous.